Compartmented container or tray



March 4, 1952 A. HOLDER ETAL COMPARTMENTED CONTAINER 0R TRAY 2 sx-lEETs-SHEET 1 'A Filed Dec. 17, 1946 March'4, 1952 A. HOLDER ET Al.

Filed Dec. 1'?, v1946 Patented Mar. 4, 1952 UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE assigne pplication VThe present invention relates to improvements in containers ortrays and relates more particularly to compartmented containers or trays, i. e., containers which are subdivided into a pluralityof compartments to accommodate and to hold separate a plurality of items such, for instance, as coins, mechanical parts, postage stamps, etc.

The compartmented containers of the present invention; like thep-Iior art, include a containerbody, a trough-'shaped bottom-"member provided withtransverse slots, and a plurality of partitionplates respectively installed in the said slots.

The priork compartmented containers above referred to have required that each individual partition-plate be secured to the container-body independently of the bottom-member and at relatively-great expense for assembly.

Furthermore, in the construction of the prior art. above referred to, suitable xtures have been required in order to locatethe various partitionplates in their appropriate positionsbefore fastenin'g the same in place in the container-body.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a superior compartmented container of the character, above referred to, in which the v i.;rough--shaped bottom-member will itself serve toretain the plurality of partition-plates in place Within the container-body and without requiring the individual securement of the said partitionplates to the container-body. Anotherobject of the present invention is to provide 'a superior c ornpartmented-tray constructionwherein the assembly cost of its component parts ismateriallyreduced.

further lobject of the present invention is to provide' 'a' superior compartmented container o f the general character above referred to and having `its component parts so constructed and arranged thatthe plurality of partition-plates may b e f irst assembled with the trough-shaped bottom-member to be thereby held in the desired relative locations prior to the installation of the unit comprising the ysaid bottom-member and the plurality of partition-plates in the container- Vbody.

With the above and other objects in view; as will appear to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includes all Vvfeatures in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

' fIn the accompanying drawings`, in which cer- 'tain modes of carrying out the present inventionare shown for illustrative purposes Figli is 'perspective View of one 'form of a Itecemher 17, 194e, Serial o. {utili-4g y1 claim. (o1. :zzo-21) compartmented container or tray constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a broken longitudinal sectional view thereof taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, but on a larger scale;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, but on a larger scale;

Fig. 4 is a similar View, but taken on the line ifa-idrica;

Fig. 5 is a broken detail sectional view of the area' indicated at 5 in Fig; 4, butY on a; larger scale;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of 4one form' of the trough-shaped bottom-member suitable for carrying out the present invention;

Fig. '7 is a perspective View of one of the .partition-plates of the preceding figures;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the assembly comprising the bottom-member anda plurality of partition-plates, viewing the same partly from the underside thereof; and

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view similar to Fig, 3, but illustrating an alternative form of bottom-member and partition-plate.

There is illustrated in Figs. 1 -to 8 inclusive,v a compartmented container of tray-like form which includes in the main, a rectangular traylike container-body generally designated by the referencecharacter l0, a trough-shaped bottom` member generally designated `by the reference character Il and a plurality of partition-plates generally vdesignated by the reference character IZ. All of the said parts may be formed of sheet metal or other suitable sheet material.

The container-body ID; in the instance shown, comprises a bottom-wall i3, complemental sidewalls lll-i4 and complemental end-walls |5 `-'|5. The side-walls Illli and end-walls '|5435 above referred to are all integral with the bottom-wall I3 and the respective opposite ends of the said side-walls are bent inwardly over the outer yfaces of the end-walls lil-l5 to provide -attaching-langes i6 which may be spot-welded or otherwise secured to the adjacent portion of an end-wall l5 to stiffen the structure. Preferably, the upper edges of each of the end-walls' ISL-I5 are reversely bent as at I'l to further stiifen the structure and to provide a smooth rounded sur'- face.

The bottom-member Il before referred to, has the upper edgesof its respective opposite sidewalls llll bent downwardly to provide each thereof with one of two guard-ilanges lf3-I8 which llit over theupperedges of the side-walls lll-I4 of the leontainer-bodyl0 and engage with the outersurfaces thereof, in the manner especially well shown in Fig. 5.

The bottom-member II is formed with five ,toward eachother beyond the positions in which they are held when engaged with the upper edges of the side-walls l4-I4 of the container-body I0, all for purposes as will more fully hereinafter appear. P

Each of the partition-plates I2 above referred to is adapted to extend through a given one of the slots I9 of the bottom-member and is of a length such as to snugly t between the respective opposite side-walls III- I4 of the containerbody I0. The height of the partition-plates I2 is preferably such as to bring the upper edge of each thereof substantially iiush with the upper surfaces of the respective opposite edges of the trough-like bottom-member II when the latter and the said partition-plates are installed in the container-body It, in the manner illustrated in the drawings.

Each of the partition-plates l2 is formed in its respective opposite ends, adjacent its upper edge,

with one of tWo corresponding notches generally designated by the reference characters 2li-20. The bottom of each of the said notches provides an upwardly-facing retaining-abutment 2i which engages with the material at the ends of the slots I9 of the bottom-member II to hold the partition-plate against upward displacement. Preferably and as shown, one wall of each of the notches 20- is outwardly sloped to substantially conform to the shape of the adjacent upper surface of the edge-portions of the bottom-member Il to thus provide what may be aptly termed a holding surface or abutment 22.'

In `assembling the compartmented container above described, it is preferred to rst insert the partition-plates I2 respectively in the transverse slots I9 in the container-body from theunderside thereof, after slightly springing the respective opposite edge-portions of the said bottom-member outwardly, to permit such insertion. When the spreading tension upon the bottom-member II is relaxed after the insertion of the partitionplates, the said edge-portions will spring inwardly and engage the upper surfaces thereof with the holding-surfaces or -abutments 22 of the respective partition-plates and thus hold the partition-plates in assembled relationship with the said bottom-member, in the manner illustrated in Fig. 8.

The unit comprising the bottom-Wall II and the ve (more or less) partition-plates I2, may now be set down into the container-body I so that the parts assume the positions in which they are shown in Figs. l to 5 inclusive.

The entire unit of Fig. 8 may now be held in assembled relationship with respect to the container-body I0 by two spot-welds 23-23 (or other suitable fastening-means) serving to rigidly attach the transversely-central portion of the bottom-member I I to the bottom-wall I3 of the container-body I0, as is indicated in Fig. 2.

If desired and for very severe usage, the guardanges I8 of the bottom-member II may be suitably secured to the container-body by means of spot-welds 24-24, either in addition to the spotwelds 23-23 or in lieu thereof.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that by means of the construction and arrangement of parts shown, the respective partition-plates I2 do not require individual securement directly to the container-body I0 but are held in place by the simple act of fastening the bottom-member I I to the said container-body.

Furthermore, it Will be apparent that the assembly cost is further reduced by beingable to first assemble the partition-plates I2 With the bottom-member II to provide the multi-part unit illustrated in Fig. 8, and then inserting this unit into the container-body I0 Without requiring the aid of other spacing-means.

In Fig. 9 is illustrated a slightly modified form of bottom-member which is generally designated by the reference character 25, together with a slightly modified partition-plate generally designated by the reference character.

Instead of being of curved form in cross section like the bottom-member II, the bottommember 25 is of angular form in cross section though still of trough-like form. IThe partitionplate 28 is formed adjacent its respective upper corners with notches generally designated by the reference characters 27-21 of less acute form than the notches 20 before described. Each of the said notches has a substantially-horizontal bottom-Wall providing an upwardly-facing retaining-abutment 28 engaged by the end-walls of the transverse slot 29 through Which the given partition-plate 26 extends, and in the manner illustrated in Fig. 9.

The remaining Wall of each of the notches 21-21 is sloped outwardly to conform to and engage with the adjacent surface of the edgeportions of the bottom-member 25 so as to provide a holding-abutment 30 functioning in the same manner as the holding-abutment 22 before described.

The angular or paneled body-member 25 is formed at its opposite edges with down-turned guard-flanges 3I-3I which are adapted to fit over the upper edges of the respective side-walls I4--I4 of a container-body I0, in the same manner as that described in connection with the construction of the figures preceding Fig. 9.

The bottom-member 25 and a series ofv partition-plates such as 26 may be assembledfin the same manner as that described in connection with the construction of Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive and may, in turn, be installed in the containerbody Ii! and held therein in the same manner as has been previously described.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth Without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to .be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming Within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claim are intended to be embraced therein.

We claim:

A compartmented container including in combination: a container-body having a bottom wall and a pair of spaced-apart lateral walls; a concavo-convex bottom-member performed of resilient sheet material, said bottom-member having oppositely-disposed upper edges, each Y of which is provided with a guard-flange extending downwardly throughout the length of said upper edge and hooked over the upper edge of the corresponding lateral Wall of said containerbody to hold said bottom-member therein, said concavo-convex bottom-member having a plurality of slots extending transversely thereof, each of said slots having a downwardly-facing substantially-straight transverse end-Wall at the respective oposite ends thereof positioned below the corresponding upper edges of said bottommember; and a plurality of partition-plates respectively installed in the slots of said bottommember so as to project beyond both the upper and lower faces thereof, each of said partitionplates being provided with a notch adjacent its respective opposite ends, each of said notches having a substantially-straight bottom edge constituting an upwardly-facing retaining-abutment arranged substantially opposite the corresponding downwardly-facing transverse endwall of the slot in which the partition-plate is installed to lockingly engage therewith, Whereby each of the said partition-plates is held positively by the said concave-convex bottom-member against upward displacement with respect to said container-body.

ARTHUR HOLDER. THEODORE NIEDSZWE'CKI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re.2l,883 Sherman Aug. 19, 1941 1,015,892 Jeierson Jan. 30, 1912 1,486,607 Reissig Mar. 11, 1924 l5 1,515,638 Wason Nov. 18, 1924 1,716,907 Staley June 11, 1929 1,768,023 Benoit June 24, 1930 1,874,162 Benoit Aug. 30, 1932 1,954,646 Pratt Apr. 10, 1934 20 2,268,392 Gustafson et al. Dec. 30, 1941 2,309,896 Gustafson et al Feb. 2, 1943 2,313,487 Heshe Mar. 9, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 25 Number Country Date 213,760 Great Britain Apr. 10, 1924 

